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People and planet earth

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PROBLEMS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT The Earth is 4,600 million years old. Modern man has lived on the Earth for only 35,000 years but, in that time, we have changed our planet in many ways. Many of the things that we have done are good, but many, many more are not good for the Earth .

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TRAFFIC POLLUTION In big cities, cars and busses have polluted the air. Many people in cities now have very bad health problems.

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FACTORY POLLUTION Factories have also polluted the land and the water. As a result, many rivers and lakes are now dead.

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FEWER TREES All over the world, people have cut down millions and millions of trees. As a result, many types of animals and plants are now disappearing.

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THE OZONE LAYER Around the Earth, there is a special type of oxygen called ‘ozone’ (O 3 ) Ozone is important because it stops ultraviolet radiation from the sun Many aerosol sprays and factories destroy ozone and they have made a very big hole in the ozone layer This means that too much ultraviolet radiation now enters the Earth This is very dangerous because it can cause cancer

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MORE CARBON DIOXIDE Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the air has increased a lot. This has formed a 'blanket' around the Earth. The heat from the sun cannot escape and so the temperature is rising (the 'green­house effect'). This means that the level of the sea is rising and the climate is changing.

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… but we can do something now. These problems are very serious for our future…

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HOPE FOR THE FUTURE In many places, they have already taken action to improve the environment. In some cities people use electric cars and buses. Many countries now use the wind, the sun and the sea to make electricity.